Gov. Whitmer visits Ironwood

IRONWOOD - Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist were in Ironwood Tuesday to kick off their U.P. Jobs Tour across the Upper Peninsula.

The governor's delegation visited with owners of Jacquart Fabric Products and Cold Iron Brewing and toured the facilities. She said the pandemic prevented a 2020 visit, along with many aspects of her normal routine.

"It's great to be up here," Whitmer said to the Globe on Tuesday while touring Jacquart.

The U.P. is an important part of the Michigan Economic Jumpstart initiative, she said. The trip is a way to engage directly with businesses and communities.

"Because they matter," Whitmer said. "They're important to me and important to our state."

The governor's plan includes a $1 billion investment in small business initiatives, childcare, education, health, housing and infrastructure to include rebuilding roads and bridges.

"There's a lot of resources that are coming to the Upper Peninsula, and I'm excited about it, because the U.P. is really important," Whitmer said. "It's important to our state, it's important to our economy and it's important to me personally, I love the U.P."

The priority with education is preparing and training the 21st century workforce, she said. The schools of the U.P. will receive more funding from her education budget along with postsecondary skills opportunities.

Support for Gogebic Community College is important in providing the skills needed for quality jobs in the area. Programs like Michigan Reconnect help current workers with "up-skilling opportunities," she said.

The goal is to create a debt-free path for people through school and into good paying jobs, she said. The plan is to fill the many living wage jobs currently available in the U.P.

"We want to level the barriers of cost and that means getting more resources into the community colleges in particular," Whitmer said, adding that the Michigan Legislature has not yet presented its education budget. "We've just got to close that skills gap and help people get on that track, and that's what we're really focused on."

Whitmer said her budget proposes affordable housing, incentives for small businesses and workforce skills to get people back into the economy. She said a proposed $1.4 billion childcare investment will help a lot of families and is why she is devoting time and energy to making sure that is a reality in the Upper Peninsula.

"We've got to get it done and I need the legislature to come back to town and take a vote on a number of these budget issues," Whitmer said. "But I think that there's a lot of opportunity for us to find some common ground on the fundamentals that are going to improve the quality of people's lives."

Providing safe, secure, quality housing is essential for stable families and communities and a priority for the administration, Whitmer said. She would like to commit $100 million to a fund that promotes creativity and innovation with affordable housing to help with foreclosure relief and for building new units and rehabbing old units.

"There's a lot of opportunity but there's a lot of need," Whitmer said. "We know that good, quality affordable housing is something that we don't have enough of in any part of the state and that's why this is such an important initiative."

Quentin Messer, Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and president and chair of the Michigan Strategic Fund, was part of the delegation along with other cabinet officials. In his statement, Messer said the effort is to partner with businesses and employees in jumpstarting the economy and helping to "accelerate economic growth, recovery and transformation in the U.P. and throughout the entire state."

Whitmer and Gilchrist were welcomed at Jacquart Fabric Products by Gina Thorsen, president, and Bob Jacquart, CEO. The two provided a tour of the company they've operated for 16 years along with some of the newer machinery they've invested in and the sourcing materials that come from all over the world.

"We welcome anyone who wants to see how we make stuff here in America and here in Michigan," Thorsen said.

The production floor normally closes at 3 p.m. However, there were staff on duty to continue operating during the tour including Luanne Lombardo, sewer, and Jim Wilman, machine operator.

"It's just to show them how these things get created by people and that it's not all automated," Thorsen said. "We want her to see that and also to talk with her about how we made it through the last year."

John Garske welcomed the delegation to Cold Iron Brewery as the spokesperson for the eight co-owners and friends. He said the role fell to him as the retiree with the most time.

"But yeah, we're ecstatic over the visit," Garske said prior to the tour. "This is pretty cool for us."

During the tour Garske emphasized that the brewery is an anchor piece for downtown. He said the sweat equity labor of the co-owners in designing and repurposing the building made the project possible.

The tavern is part of a downtown renaissance with several other businesses opening almost simultaneously, he said. The downtown is becoming more vibrant and is an important piece of the city's economic development.

"We did it for a passion for beer, but also because we wanted to make it a place for the community to come together," Garske said. "The community has really wrapped themselves around us and us with them. It's been just a fun, fun ride and we want to convey that to the governor."

Garske also talked about the difficult shutdown period for the COVID-19 pandemic. The co-owners came up with some unique ideas to move forward such as the outdoor seating area for social distancing.

"We've got a new canning machine and we hired people to come in and can so that we could sell takeout and that is the only way we got through."

The delegation is in Houghton today to learn about economic development and place-making projects. They will also tour a defense manufacturing plant and visit forest products facilities.